This course is certainly from a mold formed in times past. The course is routed simply over the land. the greens and tees are simply closely mown areas rather than expensively maintained and completely manufactured. This course, while not being anything special or unique to the world of golf, is a lot of fun to play and gives the golfer a look into how golf might have been played and courses designed years ago prior to the widespread use of heavy equipment.
Holes to Note
Hole #1: Par 5, 509 yards
This is a very good opening hole. The tee shot plays uphill and into the wind to a blind fairway. The best play off the tee will be for the player to play up the right hand side of the fairway. That will given him a chance to see the green. However, the green is tucked around a sharp corner and is very small, making for a very difficult target to hit with a fairway wood or long iron. This hole sets the pace for the rest of the round with the blind shots, small greens and difficult angles.
From the tee, the hole spreads out nicely in front of the player. The center of the fairway lies where the high, unmaintained grass intersects with the standard rough grass in the center of the image. The best line off the tee is slightly right of that point.
With this hole playing into the prevailing wind, a 260 yard tee shot is a fair blast. From the left side of the fairway (obviously this writer does not possess the skill to execute the shot as directed) the green is still completely obscured.
Now, from around 125 yards, the green is plainly in view and easily accessed. Bunkers flank the green on both sides and the green is somewhat rectangular, giving a bit of a biarritz green set-up...though without the requisite depression.
Hole #3: Par 3, 150 yards
This green site is nicely shelved into the hillside beyond the green. The bunkers add quality framing features to the hole. The only problem on this hole is the routing. The player walks from two green to three tee, then to the green, but from the third green the player must double back the entire length of the hole, walk directly past the teeing ground and over a hill in order to get to the fourth tee. Given the old time, homely nature of the course though, perhaps it deserves a pass.
Hole #7: Par 4, 504 yards
Upon a non-exhaustive review, this appears to be the longest par 4 hole in Alaska. It plays slightly downhill off the tee, generally downwind and to a firm fairway. On a warm day like when this writer played, the hole can be rather easy. But on a day with temps in the mid-50's and lacking a helping wind, this hole must be a real beast. The hole plays with a slight dogleg left, downhill off the tee and slightly back uphill to the green. The bunker that lies on a line just left of the forward tee markers works as a strategic aim point. Left of the bunker is going to be severely penalized, as would going in the bunker. But playing close would cut some of the significant distance off the hole.
As with Palmer Golf Course, located just a few miles away, the open nature of the course coupled with the mountains in the distance really skew the player's perspective. Those mountains are roughly five miles distant and the red roof marking the clubhouse is about 1,000 yards from this tee.
This green complex is, without doubt, the best on the course. It is guarded by no bunkers and is open in the front, but features significant run-off areas on the other three sides. Any golfer missing this green will be faced with a difficult recovery.
Overall, this is a fun little golf course. It doesn't compete with the full eighteen hole courses in the area in terms of quality, but it shouldn't. It manages to carve out a niche in the market and promotes itself as such. This is an old style course with an old style feel. It does not try to be something it is not. It is simply a fun course to play. 2 out of 10.
